I have to escape to France to get away from the endless news cycle. I try not even to keep up too much with American politics because it was so depressing. And if I go and live in a place, I like to be on the planet, on the edge of a planet. It gives you a better grounding for your own inevitable demise. Is there anything funny in it right now? Is it too soon? You have to be kind of cynical,. Much less than most people. But I don't want to be.
Should anything be off-limits in comedy? Kara and Nayeema discuss this question, and the recent Dave Chappelle SNL monologue, before Kara’s interview with our guest today: writer-comedian Eric Idle who is an OG in the craft. When he and his fellow sketch artists launched Monty Python on the BBC in 1969, it was unclear whether anyone would even watch. Now there are generations of Python fans. Today, Idle talks about what made Monty Python unique and how they pushed the line and the social conversation with their unique brand of humor.
Both avid Twitterers, Kara and Idle also discuss their frustrations with Elon Musk (he’s a noted fan of Monty Python, though Idle is not a fan of Musk). And Idle describes how his recent bout with pancreatic cancer has made him a more accepting person.
You can find Kara and Nayeema on Twitter @karaswisher and @nayeema.
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